Suddenly I See
by Cogent
Summary: A story about NatShizShiznat whichever way you wanna call it.


**Disclaimer: Mai Hime and Mai Otome don't belong to me, they belong to Sunrise. This is just a fan fiction. The characters in this story is not related to any living people unless by purely coincidental. The song, 'Suddenly I see' By K T Tunstall, don't belong to me. Please don't sue me. **

**My first Fanfic for this anime. The story just came into my head and took me about 3 hours to complete. I hope you will enjoy reading it.**

A few months after the carnival had ended, Natsuki and Shizuru became closer and shared many things with each other. Even though they were closer, Natsuki still couldn't tell Shizuru everything. They remained as close friends and she appreciated the girl's sacrifices for her during the carnival but she wasn't ready to go the next level with her or was she.

She was just confused if she should take the step to go into a serious relationship with Shizuru. As time passed by when she was with Shizuru, she was learning about love all over again and wasn't sure about how to declare her new found love for the other girl. She waited for the right time and a few months had passed and Shizuru had graduated and was attending Fuuka University. She was glad that Shizuru was still near her even though they were no longer in the same school. She was still waiting for the right time until one day when she had wanted to invite Shizuru out from lunch after school, she was waiting for Shizuru outside of the university. The older girl didn't know that Natsuki was waiting for her.

Shizuru was walking out of the university with a group of her fans and suddenly a girl approached her and was daring enough to hug her and kissed her on her cheek. Shizuru just smiled at the girl who was still clinging to her and both of them walked together with the rest of the group. Natsuki was upset when she saw that and she felt a great sense of jealousy. She decided not to approach Shizuru and rode her bike away.

She rode her bike all the way to the cliff where many memories of hers were. She parked her bike and stood against the railing. She let the wind blew her raven hair as she stood and thought about the past. She was wondering if Shizuru had moved on without her.

"How could I blame her. She has many suitors. She can captivate many people without trying hard to." Natsuki said to herself as she was facing the sea. Shizuru had waited for her for years without expecting anything in return except for her love. She remembered Shizuru's sacrifices for her and her efforts on helping Natsuki becoming more open about her feelings.

"Today. Today, I will tell her. It is better for her to know how I feel than not knowing at all. She deserves it and if she really have move on, then I will wish her happiness. " Natsuki said to herself, clenching her fists as she was walking towards her Ducati. She was on her way to Shizuru's apartment and deep inside she hoped that the older girl was still waiting for her love.

Natsuki had arrived at Shizuru's apartment, she hoped she was at home as Natsuki didn't inform her about her plan. She went up and pressed the doorbell. The door opened and Shizuru stood before her in surprise.

"Ara, Natsuki. What a surprise." Shizuru said and smiled at the younger girl. She gave way to Natsuki who entered her apartment. As Natsuki entered her apartment, she stopped walking and froze from where she stood, she saw the same girl who had hugged and kissed Shizuru earlier on. She was sitting on the couch watching the TV.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you have company. Have fun, Shizuru. I will leave you two alone." Natsuki turned around and said coldly to Shizuru. She walked past Shizuru and opened the door to get out of the apartment.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru called out to Natsuki when she walked past her and saw the sadness in her eyes but Natsuki closed the door and ran away as fast as she could. Shizuru just stood there and stared at the door until the girl who was in her apartment called her.

"Onee chan, is that the Natsuki you were telling me about? Why did she leave?" The girl asked Shizuru.

"Yes, that is Natsuki. I don't know why, Arika." Shizuru said to her sadly and walked towards her bedroom, she closed the door and she cried when she sat down on her bed. Arika went near Shizuru's bedroom and heard her sobs through the door. She felt angry with Natsuki for treating Shizuru like that, no one treats Shizuru like dirt. She planned to do something about it and she wanted to make sure Natsuki would get it into her head.

Natsuki ran to her bike and rode all the way to her apartment. She felt depressed and her stomach was churning and she felt nauseous. She stepped into her bedroom and cried out. She punched the nearest wall hard and swore vulgarities to vent her anger.

"Why?! Why must this happen to me when I was just about to tell her how I feel towards her?! I thought I could just tell her and move on even if she already someone else. Why can't I accept that?!" She shouted in her room while she was punching the wall. After she stopped punching, she knelt next to her bed and clenched her fists. Her right knuckle was swelling and bleeding because she had punched the wall earlier but she didn't care. Then she rest on her bed and fall asleep after she was tired of crying.

The alarm clock rang and Natsuki woke up from her sleep. She had a weird dream about Duran, Shizuru and Kiyohime. In her dream, Shizuru and her didn't get revived back after they fought. They just vanished into thin air and they appeared together in a different place. A beautiful field filled with flowers and both them were hugging each other while admiring the surroundings. They were at peace and comfortable with each other's company. How she wished the dream was true and she could have Shizuru. When she rubbed her eyes, she realized her right knuckle felt a sharp pain. She looked at it and saw that it was swollen. She decided to bandage it before going to school.

Natsuki arrived school on time, a habit she developed after the carnival. She wanted to excel in her studies and make up for the times when she skipped classes during her days as a Hime. As lunch came, she walked to the garden with a bun in her left hand. She declined Mai's invitation to have lunch together, as she needed to be alone at the moment.

As she walked towards her usual spot, she saw the same girl who was with Shizuru yesterday. She saw the girl approaching her and both of them closed up the distance between them and stood facing each other.

"Hello, Kuga san. I am Arika." The girl greeted Natsuki and a familiar smile across her face.

'God, she smiles just like Shizuru. No wonder they're together.' Natsuki thought when she watched the girl closely.

"Hi, how come you're here?" Natsuki asked her coldly.

"It's my first day of school here. I need to talk to you and please listen to me first before you ran away like yesterday." Arika said to Natsuki nicely but there was a hint of firmness in her tone. She noticed Natsuki's right hand was bandaged and hope Natsuki wouldn't be violent towards her but she kept her composure.

"What do you want?" Natsuki asked her and went to sit at her usual spot to eat her bread. She was trying her best to control her temper.

Arika was not intimidated by Natsuki's cold treatment and sat next to Natsuki.

"I wanted to tell you that you are uncool and the most dense person that I have ever met in my life." Arika said with a smile to Natsuki.

"W-what?!" Natsuki yelled but was stopped from yelling any further when Arika put her hand up in front of her face.

"Listen first, Kuga san. I don't know how strong you are and I don't care who you are. Do you know how many people want her attention and will do anything to get it but she gives all her attention on you. But it seems to me that either you don't realize it or you are just using her. Who do you think you are to break my cousin's heart? No one has ever done that to her and…" Arika said and stared deep into Natsuki's emerald eyes. 'She is pretty, Onee chan has good tastes.' Arika thought to herself.

Before she could finish, Natsuki interrupted her.

"Who do you think you are?! How dare you… Wait! You said cousin? You're her cousin?!" Natsuki was about to scold Arika when the word 'Cousin' registered in her brain.

"Yes. We're cousins as in I'm like her younger sister." Arika said calmly and was not distracted by Natsuki's earlier outburst.

"Oh shit! I'm so screwed up!" Natsuki scolded herself.

'She's cute.' Arika was amused by Natsuki's behavior.

"I'm so sorry, Arika. I thought…" It was Natsuki's turn to be interrupted.

"It's ok, Kuga san, I understand that you had misunderstood us yesterday. But what I want to know is about your intentions with my Onee chan? She has been waiting for you. I hope you will be able to give an answer." Arika asked Natsuki.

"Er, Arika… I.. I want to be with her. I hope to make her happy." Natsuki's face turned red as a tomato and Arika giggled at the sight.

"Well, I guess you will have to tell that to her. And Kuga san, I hope you will make her happy." Arika said happily. Natsuki stood up and stood before Arika.

"Er, Arika, call me Natsuki and thank you for telling me. I will see her later and I hope you won't tell her yet." Natsuki said.

"No worries, I won't. Anyways, I will be staying at the dorm so you can go to her apartment if you want to. She will be there after school." Arika informed Natsuki and smiled. The school bell rang and both of them made their way back to school.

"Thanks again, see you around." Natsuki said and walked away quickly.

Later after school, Natsuki made her way to Shizuru's apartment. She knew Shizuru was going to be home, all thanks to Arika. She made her way to Shizuru's door and pressed the doorbell. Natsuki had never felt so nervous in her entire life, she hoped Shizuru would forgive her and accepted her.

'_Her face is a map of the world  
Is a map of the world  
You can see she's a beautiful girl  
She's a beautiful girl  
And everything around her is a silver pool of light  
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it  
It makes you calm  
She holds you captivated in her palm'_

The door opened and Shizuru was shocked to see Natsuki standing in front of her.

"Can I come in?" Natsuki said after a short moment of silence. Shizuru nodded and let her in.

'_Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
This is what I wanna be  
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
Why the hell it means so much to me'_

"What can I do for you Natsuki?" Shizuru asked her calmly in her usual mask, she noticed Natsuki's bandaged hand. Natsuki hated it when Shizuru didn't show her true self but she couldn't blame the older girl. It was her fault.

'_I feel like walking the world  
Like walking the world  
You can hear she's a beautiful girl  
She's a beautiful girl  
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white  
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember  
What you heard  
She likes to leave you hanging on her word'_

"Shizuru, I am sorry that I misunderstood the two of you. I just found out that Arika is your cousin. And I…" Natsuki said to Shizuru in a calm tone but she was interrupted.

"Ara, Natsuki, it is alright. We are still friends right?" Shizuru said to her sweetly. Natsuki clenched her fists and tried to continue.

"Can you let me finish?!" Natsuki cut her off. Shizuru kept quiet and waited for Natsuki to continue.

"I don't want to be friends with you…." Natsuki said to Shizuru whose eyes were staring at Natsuki.

"All I can say is that… I…I" Natsuki tried to say the words that she wanted to say but she found it so hard as she had never said it to anyone before.

"Ara, what do you mean Natsuki? You want to stay away from me?" Shizuru said softly but she refused to lose her composure.

"Stop putting words into my mouth, Shizuru! What I want to say is that I am in love with you!" Natsuki shouted and was shocked that the L word had came out from her mouth.

'_Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
This is what I wanna be  
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
Why the hell it means so much to me'_

Shizuru just stood in front of Natsuki and not daring to move as she was afraid that this was just going to be another dream of hers.

Natsuki stepped nearer to Shizuru and cupped her face. She kissed Shizuru's lips nervously and before she could pull back, Shizuru kissed her back fiercely and hugged her tightly.

When both of them broke the kiss, without letting go of each other, Natsuki whispered to her ear.

"I love you, Shizuru. I was blind in the past but you open up my eyes. You give me the power to see that love do exist in this world after I had given up hope on it. You care for me and protected me against my enemies. Will you give me a chance to be with you?" She looked at Shizuru's face and realized that she was crying. Shizuru sobbed and laid her head on Natsuki's shoulder.

_'And she's taller than most  
And she's looking at me  
I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine  
Oh she makes me feel like I could be a tower  
A big strong tower  
She got the power to be  
The power to give  
The power to see'_

"Shizuru?" Natsuki asked and her voice was pleading with the older girl.

" I love you, Natsuki. The chance has always been yours and only yours, Natsuki." Shizuru said in between her sobs.

"Thank you, Shizuru. Please don't cry, just tell me what to do to make it better." Natsuki asked her with a loving smile.

'_Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
This is what I wanna be  
Suddenly I see (Suddenly I see)  
Why the hell it means so much to me'_

"I just want you, Natsuki. And what happen to your hand?" Shizuru said and led Natsuki into her bedroom for her to tend to Natsuki's hand and heart. That night, both of them were dreaming about their future together while they were cuddled up and sleeping on the same bed.

**END**

**Please kindly leave a review if you can spare less than a minute for a sentence. Unless you want to leave me a paragraph for which I won't mind. Constructive criticisms are welcome too. Thank you for your time.**


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